Impact of the work environment on patients’ safety as perceived by nurses in Poland—a cross-sectional study

Numerous studies have found that organizational features connected with the work environment of nurses have a significant influence on patients’ safety. The aim of this research was to capture nurses’ opinions about patients’ safety and discern relationships with work environment characteristics. This cross-sectional study surveyed 1825 nurses. The research used questionnaire consisting of four parts: (1) covered The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI); (2) assessed the quality of nursing care and care safety; (3) contained information on the most recent duty served by the nurses and (4) captured social and demographic data of participants. The research identified strong association between patient safety assessment and work environment of nurses in the aspect of employment adequacy, cooperation between nurses and doctors, support for nurses from the managing staff, the possibility to participate in the management as well as professional promotion of nurses employed in the hospital (p < 0.001). Nurses rated patient safety higher when responsible for a smaller number of patients. Work environment factors such as proper staffing, good cooperation with doctors, support from the management, as well as professional independence are significantly related to nurses’ assessment of patients’ safety.